NTSB: Copter lost power before downtown crash-landing

The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on a helicopter's crash-landing in downtown Honolulu says the engine suddenly lost power. (Krystle Marcellus/kmarcellus@staradvertiser.com)

The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on a helicopter's crash-landing in downtown Honolulu says the engine suddenly lost power.

The NTSB report released this week says the engine lost power while the helicopter was over the Punchbowl area on May 8 so that the passenger could take aerial photographs. The report says that in response to the engine failure, the pilot maneuvered to land on a one-way street that had no wires in the flight path. The helicopter skidded into a parked car.

No one was badly injured.

The mechanic who owns the company that last worked on the helicopter has said it was his fault the engine lost power. Brant Swigart says he overlooked incorrect rigging that caused a mixture cable to snap.

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seriouswrote:

I have been a pilot for many years and on maintenance on a airplane, if you have a problem in the air you just don't pull over to the side of the road. Every maintenance procedure has to be quality controlled inspected by another certified mechanic.

on May 30,2013 | 12:48PM

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SueHwrote:

Lost power suddenly before landing??? Brilliant! It takes the NTSB almost a month to figure this out? I've also been a pilot and aircraft mechanic for almost 40 years. Obviously they weren't just "dropping in" to a downtown restaurant for lunch!